2019 Northeastern Earthquake
2019 Northeastern Earthquake The 2019 Northeastern Earthquake was an 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck near Culpeper, in Central Virginia on November 27th. It caused catastrophic damage to large portions of the Northeast, Southeast, Ohio Valley, and Mid-Atlantic. Its shaking was felt as far away as Amarillo, Texas. It is estimated as much as 175 million to 200 million people felt this earthquake. This is one of the most-felt earthquakes of American History. Even weak shaking was reported in Indio, CA and Pocatello, Idaho. This earthquake also caused more than 700 billion dollars of damage, around 10 times larger than the damage caused by the 2019 Ridgecrest Earthquake in California. On December 19th, scientists discovered that the 5.8 quake, that occurred in 2011, with an epicenter about 30 miles south of this quake, could have been a foreshock. Before the Earthquake Prior to November 1st, the area was quiet. On the 14th, a small tremor, a magnitude 3.4, impacted around 9 miles south of Culpeper. Not much speculation went into this tremor as it was thought to have been an aftershock of the 2011 tremor. Although, on the 17th, another, slightly larger, tremor impacted the same area. It was a magnitude 4.5. More speculation went into this, as it was unusual for aftershocks to start again nearly 8 years after the original tremor. Extra precaution was issued for most of Virginia. On the 23rd to 25th, 4 more tremors ranging between 3.7 and 4.7 struck in the same area. The USGS put the area surrounding Culpeper in "High" risk of a major earthquake within the following year. On the 26th, things went quiet again. Shortly after midnight on the 27th, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake impacted, sending shaking all the way up to Maine. The Tremor At 7:03 am, the 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit. Violent shaking was recorded in Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Alexandria, Richmond, and Washington DC. Strong (VI) to severe (VIII) shaking was recorded in the I-90 corridor, from Annapolis to Boston. It is speculated that some isolated areas received as high as Extreme (X) in the peak of the shaking. This strong shaking caught many people by surprise. Shaking was strong enough in Washington DC that some people reported being knocked down to the ground when the earthquake struck. Very strong (VII) shaking was recorded in NYC, knocking people off their feet. The Subway system under NYC was shaken, and reportedly, a subway car was stuck under Northern Manhattan as dirt closed into the railway tracks. People in the Statue of Liberty reported seeing the Statue of Liberty swaying, but major speculation went into that. 4 people in Edison, New Jersey died as the strong shaking made the car crash into a building. New Castle, Delaware reported increased waves, with some waves up to 5 feet above average immediately after the earthquake. Shaking was recorded for as much as 80 seconds in some locations, producing even more widespread damage. The Washington Monument fell. The Pentagon, Lincoln's Memorial, and the Capitol also reported major damage to the exterior and the interior. Large portions of the Carolinas, the Ohio Valley, and the Great Lakes also recorded strong shaking, such as Detroit with moderate (V), Indianapolis with Strong (VI), Charlotte with very strong (VII). Some reports of moderate-very strong shaking were recorded as far away as New Orleans, Louisiana, where Bourbon Street was shaken, shocking thousands of people. Shaking was reported in Florida aswell, where Moderate (V) shaking shook Miami Beach and Downtown Miami. Strong shaking (VI) impacted Disneyworld, closing down most of the rides for inspection. Even though the strong shaking was limited to east of the Mississippi River, large areas of the west also felt this earthquake. Houston reported IV (light) to VI (strong) shaking, depending on the location. In most of Tornado Alley, they reported light to moderate shaking, such as Topeka with moderate shaking, Minneapolis with moderate, and Dallas with IV (light). Shaking was recorded as far west as Indio, CA, where people reported seeing things of their tables sway a bit. Sensors did prove that the weakest shaking did occur near Los Angeles. Parts of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana also recorded weak (II) to Light (IV) shaking. Light shaking was recorded in Denver. Some isolated spots in the Central Valley of California and the Northwest Corridor also recorded dizziness and/or light shaking. The shaking was also felt in large portions of Canada, Mexico, Cuba, the Bahamas, and even some sensors in Greenland, Iceland, the Azores, and Portugal recorded the tremor, but no shaking was reported. Aftershocks This tremor was followed by almost 3,000 aftershocks over a 2 year period, with the strongest, a 6.4 magnitude tremor occurring 46 minutes after the main shock. 1,140 were over magnitude 4, 2,500 were over magnitude 3, and the rest below 3. Around 40 of those aftershocks were felt as far as New York City. This earthquake, due to the extensive nature of it, also caused other, more local earthquakes, such as a 4.7 east of Seattle, a 4.9 in Kansas, and a 4.2 offshore of Boston. Aftermath Major damage was recorded across 20 states, prompting many states of emergencies. In the first 3 hours after the quake, 146 people were found killed across the effected, with about 1,800 injured. Virginia and Maryland were in the lead for the most deaths, with 64 in Virginia and 55 in Maryland. The 4,716 dead were found across a 50 day period after the earthquake. Even though a tsunami did not occur due to the inland location of the quake, increased waves caused localized street and coastal flooding across the eastern Seaboard. Some moderate flooding was reported in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Across the 20 states, around 900 buildings collapsed, with another 2,200 with moderate-major damage, making them uninhabitable. Many trains were caught off-guard, with a train outside of Boston, Mass. getting derailed due to the shaking. Many European nations (mainly nations of NATO and the EU) sent supplies, rescue dogs, etc. to help with the damage. This was, by far, one of the most felt earthquakes in world history. Researched by scientists, they discovered that this was once every 11,000 year event. This is also broke the all-time record for the strongest earthquake in the Eastern Seaboard, with the old record of a 7.3 in Charleston, SC in 1886. Large areas of the Eastern Coast lost power, up to 3 weeks at a time. Some of the older houses in Virginia reported being without power for up to 2 months. Older apartments in NYC lost power for 1-3 weeks. Water also was cut off significantly, potentially for up to a month. Many aqueducts were completely destroyed due to the shaking. Large portions of highways also collapsed and/or sustained major damage, making them inaccessible. Amtrak, a train service, was closed until January 15th, 2020 due to damage to the trains and the tracks, and due to large-scale inspections. Up to 90 people died in Amtrak trains from being thrown into the air, or receiving a major concussion. Many people also got broken arms and legs. Even though many of the dead persons were in moving vehicles, the far majority, of about 2,500 died because of crushed buildings. Strange Phenomenon Some strange phenomenon followed this earthquake. Around 2 pm EDT, or about 7 hours after the quake, temperatures quickly rose in Central Virginia, even hitting some record highs. Culpeper recorded a 42 degree rise of temperature in 7 hours, from 41 degrees F to 83 degrees shortly after 2 pm. Various other towns in Central Virginia also got well into the 80's, such as 85 in Fredericksville, 88 in Charlottesville, Locust Grove with 86, and Ruckersville with 90. They were even higher than Miami, where Miami only reached 81 degrees. Areas just outside the area recorded highs in the 50's and 60's, such as 59 in DC, 64 in Norfolk, 66 in Durham/Raleigh. Another strange phenomenon following the quake was the sudden disappearance of a storm front, which was through northern New York state before the quake. Just minutes after, the storm dissipated into quick showers, then pure sunshine. This is unusual considering there was no high pressure at the time. In the Midwest, temperatures suddenly fell after the quake. Chicago fell to 24 degrees at 4 pm, after being at 40 at 7 am. Many strange other weather phenomenon occurred, such as severe thunderstorms in Southern California, severe cold in Seattle, and extremely hot temperatures in Texas. Some astronomical phenomena also occurred after sunset, such as potentially thousands of stars seen in New York City, where the smog and light pollution blocks it out. More than 9,000 dead birds were found in the small town of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. Parts of Boston bay were reported to have "run out of water" as bay water levels hit record low levels in just hours. Dozen of more occurred across the USA. One anonymous scientist said "It certainly it strange to see '''this '''much strange phenomena after a tremor. Some strange "lights" were seen in the sky above Mexico City during earthquakes in 2017, which was strange, but not to this magnitude." Category:Future Earthquakes Category:Earthquakes Category:Hypothetical Events Category:Hypothetical Disasters Category:Hypothetical Earthquakes Category:Destructive disasters